The Christmas Gift
by flamefield
Summary: Kagome is a lonely secretary who gets stuck in an elevator a few weeks before Christmas with her memories, limited rations, and her hot boss. Will she open up to someone she barely knows and receive something unexpected in return?


_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

God, that song was annoying. Kagome Higurashi closed her eyes and shook her head in disgust. Of all the songs to listen to in the elevator, this is the one they chose? The doors _dinged!_ and slid open to the 85th floor of the Takahashi Toy Corporation. Kagome stepped out, relieved that she didn't have to listen to those stupid lyrics.

The Takahashi Toy Corporation was Japan's largest toy manufacture and distributor. The office was always busy during December because of the holidays. Kagome had to weave through the packed halls and high stacks of toy orders to get to her desk.

"You're late, Kagome." Sango, the other receptionist* said, smiling teasingly at her 23-year-old co-worker from her computer.

Kagome scoffed. "The roads are terrible for a Friday morning. I'm not as on-top of everything as you are." She sat down, putting on her headset before booting up her computer.

"Still, better make sure that Mr. Takahashi doesn't notice that you're just getting here. He's like Scrooge on steroids." The company phone rang and Sango went back to her duties. Kagome sighed, logging on to her computer. She was right.

Inuyasha Takahashi was a cold-blooded man who hated having fun more than anything. According to office legend, Inuyasha was once a happy guy who loved his life. That is, until his brother, the original company head, retired early, and his wife, Kikyo Takahashi, died in a tragic hunting accident**. Kagome could understand his pain, if the legend was true. Her husband, a doctor, had died just last Halloween. She was lucky that she had gotten this job thanks to a favor from an old friend.

The day went by as usual, and before Kagome knew it everyone was going home.

"See you on Monday, Kagome!" Sango said, putting on her coat.

"See you. Have fun tonight with Miroku!" Kagome called back, watching the brown-haired girl go around the desk until she was out of sight. She looked at the pile of work she still had to do and sighed. She didn't want to go home just yet. The dark, empty house made her feel depressed. She began typing again. The environment around her became silent as one by one everyone went home. It was 11:30 at night when Kagome finished. She sadly gathered her supplies, hunched over from the realization that her weekend was going to be filled with bad movies and ice cream and not dancing with cute guys. Kagome walked into the elevator and pressed the lobby button.

The doors were just starting to close when she heard a deep male voice yell "HEY! HOLD THE DOOR WENCH!" Startled, the black-haired girl put her hand to stop the doors from closing. She widened her eyes when she saw that the harsh words that were spoken came from no other than Inuyasha Takahashi himself, his tired golden eyes narrowed in disgust. He carried a black briefcase that he swung about.

"Good thing you held the door. You would have been standing in line for rations if you hadn't." The 26-year-old business executive snorted, jabbing the Lobby button.

Kagome kept her head down but glared at her boss. He didn't have to be so rude! The elevator began to move slowly downwards.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

The two of them stood in silence as the song played and the elevator went down one floor at a time. 74th. 53th. 47th. 35th.

On the 20th floor the elevator suddenly jolted to a halt.

Inuyasha snorted again. Kagome poked the Lobby button.

The elevator didn't move.

Kagome poked the Lobby button again.

The elevator didn't move.

Inuyasha pushed his secretary out of the way and punched the Lobby button, cracking it.

The elevator didn't move.

"You've got to be kiddin' me!" Inuyasha yelled, pushing the call for help button. The music stopped and a woman began to talk from the speakers above the elevator buttons.

"Our security offices are closed for the weekend and will not be open until Sunday at 6:00 pm. We at the Takahashi Toy Corporation apologize for this inconvenience, and we wish you happy holidays!" The song started again.

Kagome and Inuyasha stared at the speaker before glancing at each other. "You can't be serious." Kagome said, trembling. "We're 20 stories from the ground and we're trapped here for 2 days?!"

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

Inuyasha roared in rage, punching the speaker. Kagome winced from the violent action. It crackled and fizzed from the impact before the song resumed at a much quieter volume.

Kagome, trembling, opened her cell phone to see if she could call 911. No service. "Do you have a phone, sir?"

"Mine died two hours ago." Her boss growled.

Kagome collapsed to the carpet, running her fingers through her hair. "I can't believe this." She muttered.

"Well I can't either." The half-demon*** stomped the ground in impatience. "Everyone down there in security is getting fired." He looked over at the human. "Do ya got any food or water?"

Kagome looked up at her boss before nodding, pulling out a granola bar and a bottle of water from her bag. "Kay, that'll have to be our rations for 48 hours." Kagome nodded again, putting the items away. She scooted over to the right side of the elevator. Inuyasha stayed standing, glaring at the splintered speakers, where the song was still wafting through.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

Kagome curled her fingers into a fist. She glanced at her boss. Although she had seen him occasionally around the office, she was never in this close proximity to him before. His long silver hair was combed through neatly and accented his dog ears, which Kagome oddly found to be adorable. He wore a black suit with a black tie. Blushing, Kagome noticed that he was incredibly fit. He sighed and sat down on the opposite side of the elevator, putting down his briefcase. He looked at the girl across from him.

"You're Kagome Higurashi, right?" He asked.

Kagome widened her eyes. "Yes...I've been one of your secretaries since last August, Mr. Takahashi."

"You have now, have you?" Inuyasha scratched behind one of his ears. "I go through them so fast. I can't keep track."

Kagome nodded, averting her eyes.

"Why were you staying late?" He asked.

"I had things to finish." Kagome replied. "I try to do my work diligently, Mr. Takahashi."

He grunted. "I'm sure you do." He noticed that she was shaking. "If you're worried about the elevator falling, it won't. They're magnetic."

Kagome nodded again, taking off her coat and lying down on the floor. "I know, Mr. Takahashi. If you don't mind - I'll be getting some sleep now." She turned away from him.

Inuyasha stared at her until he realized she was serious. "I might as well too. We're going to be stuck here for a while." He took his coat, pulled it over him, and scrunched up into a ball.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

He woke up to the loud sound of marker squelching on plastic. He turned over, rubbing his eyes. Kagome had a Sharpie pen in one hand and her granola bar in the other.

"What are ya doing?" Inuyasha sat up, glancing at his watch. 9:30 am.

"Marking our portions." Kagome made another mark and put the cap back on the Sharpie. "See?" She held up the bar. Four marks were etched onto the plastic, all of them even. "I did the same thing for our water supply." She showed him the water bottle, where lots of lines were visible.

"Wow, you're organized." Inuyasha said, impressed.

"Thank you Mr. Takahasi, I try to be." Kagome pushed their supply to the side.

Inuyasha yawned. "Call me Inuyasha. There's no need for formalities, especially in this kind of situation."

Kagome smiled. "Okay...Inuyasha."

"Can I have one of my portions now?"

The girl nodded, taking the bar and breaking a straight piece off of it and handing it to Inuyasha before breaking a piece off for herself. For a few minutes they ate in silence before drinking a little bit of water. Inuyasha watched Kagome the entire time. She was small, but very pretty. Her brown eyes were large and her waist was trim. She wore the company standard uniform - a red dress with a black jacket with her name on a silver tag. Kagome avoided his gorgeous eyes, opting to look at the blue-green carpet. "What are you staring at?" She dared to say at last.

"Uh, nothing." Inuyasha stuttered, looking away. He couldn't help looking at her. She looked so familiar, so similar, the resemblance was striking.

Kagome sighed before going back to stare at the carpet.

Inuyasha grappled with himself to start a conversation. After all, he had nothing else to do. "So, do you like working here?"

Kagome looked at her boss. "Yes, I do. Everyone is kind here and the pay is good."

"But is this all you ever wanted to do?" Inuyasha pressed.

The girl hesitated before answering. "Actually, no. I wanted to be a historian once-upon-a-time."

"That's cool. What period of history were you interested in?"

"Medieval England. Everything from royalty to the lifestyle of the peasants captivated me." Kagome allowed herself to smile shyly. "I really liked researching Henry the 8th most of all."

"He was a jerk, though. Didn't he behead all of his wives or something?" Inuyasha's ears twitched.

Kagome chuckled. "No, he beheaded only two of his six wives. He was a just ruler even though he wasn't always rational."

Inuyasha smiled. "I see. So what made you come to work at my company? What happened?"

"I got married to a doctor and I had to stay home to do the chores and keep the house clean. He was a clean-freak who was worried about me. I'm not the healthiest person around...I get sick a lot. I took up a job here to make a little extra money."

"Oh. So there's a Mr. Higurashi." Inuyasha stated plainly.

"No..." Kagome said quietly. "He died last October in a plane crash."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." The half-demon scratched his head in embarrassment. "I didn't know."

"It's okay." Kagome smiled. "You're right. You didn't know."

The two of them sat in an awkward silence that enveloped the small space they both resided in for a few minutes before Kagome spoke again.

"How about you, Inuyasha? Didn't you inherit the company from your brother?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Yeah, I did. He found himself a human girl and took an early retirement. This stuff comes naturally to me - running a big business, I mean."

"That's fortunate for you." Kagome smiled softly. "I wish I had a talent like yours." Inuyasha wasn't 'Scrooge on steroids' like Sango had claimed. He was a little awkward, maybe, but he was kind and open once you sat down with him.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

"That song is so annoying." Kagome said, looking at the speakers. "I hate Christmas songs."

Inuyasha looked confused. "Why?"

Kagome twiddled with her name tag. "Because I do." She said suddenly. "Do you want your two front teeth for Christmas?" She asked teasingly.

Inuyasha laughed. "No, I actually don't want anything." He looked down.

Kagome cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"I have everything I need material-wise. I have a house, a car, and a job. That's much more than what most people have in the world." He lowered his eyes. "Besides...what I really wanted...I can never have. What do you want for Christmas?"

The girl smiled. "My two front teeth."

Inuyasha scoffed. "C'mon, that's not a real answer. Tell me!"

Kagome paused, pursing her lips. "I want a Medieval bow and a quiver**** of arrows. I've always wanted one since I was a kid, but I didn't have enough money. I've been saving up my extra expenses since I was 10."

The two of them continued conversing with one another for hours, talking about all sorts of things, but still being polite. The more the two talked, the more the two of them got more comfortable with one another. The roles of boss and worker slowly faded from their minds. It wasn't until later in the evening that Inuyasha remembered something.

"Oh, yeah, how could I forget?" Inuyasha opened his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of wine. "I got this as a gift yesterday from a partner. Wanna open it?"

Kagome shrugged. "Might as well. We've got at least another 36 hours."

Inuyasha used his nail and popped out the cork. "We're gonna have to sip it straight, if ya don't mind."

"I don't." Kagome took the bottle from Inuyasha and drank a little before handing it back. They passed the bottle between them back and forth for a while before Kagome slurred out the inevitable 'We should play a game.'

"What game?" Inuyasha asked, taking a swig.

"Truth or Dare!" The girl laughed. "You ask me first."

"'Kay." Inuyasha handed the wine to Kagome. "Truth or Dare?"

"DARE!" Kagome hiccuped.

Inuyasha smirked. "I dare ya to take off your jacket."

The girl shrugged off her thin black jacket, smirking back at the half-demon. "Easy. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to let me touch your ears!"

Inuyasha shrunk back, covering his dog ears. "Why?!"

"Cuz I wanna touch them." Kagome slurred, crawling towards her boss. Inuyasha had no choice but to let his employee rub his ears, much to her childish delight. "Truth or Dare?" He asked her when she was done.

"Uhhhhhh Truth." She said, drinking again. She was pretty drunk, Inuyasha could see that even through his hazy eyes.

"Do you find me attractive?" Inuyasha asked, partially hoping she would say yes.

Kagome studied her boss for a minute before grinning wildly. "Yeah, actually I do."

"You do?"

"Yeah. What are ya gonna do about it?" Kagome taunted the dog demon, waving the bottle around.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the attractive woman before him in her clingy red dress.

"Nothing! That's what I thought. You're a coward, that's what you are-" Kagome was suddenly cut off by Inuyasha's lips pressing to hers. Although both were drunk, their lips moved together expertly. Kagome dropped the now-empty wine bottle so she could wrap her arms around Inuyasha. His watch said 11:30 pm.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

The security guard was surprised to find that when he checked the elevator monitors on Sunday afternoon there was two breathing humans, both covered by a blanket, trapped on the 20th floor. Immediately he brought the elevator down and ran to make sure they were okay.

"Sir, Ma'am, are you - Oh my." He blushed in embarrassment. The CEO, Inuyasha Takahashi, and a very attractive female were sleeping peacefully under a blanket, clothes spread all over the elevator floor.

He woke the two of them up gently. The human and the half-demon realized what they had done. Blushing, they got off the elevator and got dressed before leaving the building.

Kagome was so ashamed of herself she decided to work from home for the next week. She couldn't bear to face Inuyasha and what they did together in the elevator. It was all because she was drunk, she told herself, that's all. He was drunk as well and she instigated it. He probably regrets it as much as she does. He proabably just wants to forget it all. The worst part of it all was that she really did like him. They had a lot in common

On Friday, a week exactly after the elevator incident, Kagome's doorbell to her apartment door rang. She opened it, surprised to find Inuyasha standing there with a large wrapped present in his hand.

"Hi." He said, scratching his head.

"Hi." She said back, staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha stepped inside her apartment. "This is for you." He handed Kagome the package. "We need to talk. About what happened." He said.

"There's nothing to talk about." Kagome said firmly. "It happened, we were drunk, it won't happen again."

"But-"

"Thank you for coming here, Mr. Takahashi, but I think you should go now." Kagome pointed to the door with her free hand. Inuyasha's face changed to one of sadness and his ears drooped.

"Okay, Kagome. I'll leave. Just promise me you'll read the card and open the present." Without waiting for her answer, Inuyasha turned on his heels and walked away. Kagome closed the door and set the present on a nearby table. She picked up the attatched card and opened it.

_**Kagome - **_

_**You may think what we did was a mistake, but I don't. Give me a chance to prove to you that you shouldn't hate Christmas songs, and to possibly let love fill your life again. After my wife, Kikyo, left me for my rival, Naraku Mitsubishi, I thought I would never let love into my life again. You have changed that. Please give me a chance to change your life. I'll be waiting at Valentino's tonight at 8pm. Wear your red dress. **_

_**Inuyasha**_

_**P.S. Just like Eros, you have captured my heart with these bow and arrows.**_

Kagome opened the package and gasped. It contained an authentic Medieval bow and a quiver of arrows. Tears filled her eyes as she picked up her dream gift. "I should go meet my dream guy now." She whispered, smiling happily.

_~ All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas! ~_

_END_

*** He has multiple receptionists - big company**

**** lol 'hunting accident' i hate kikyo**

***** yes this is a world where demons and half-demons exist**

****** i think it's a quiver - not sure**

**Hope you enjoyed this X-mas treat :)**

**Rate, Review, Comment! **

**flamefield**


End file.
